602 X OT. New car a write-off at 1561 miles.. ???

[w3526602]

Hi,

My new "full electric" Hyyundai Kona was parked outside my daughter's house, in a cul-de-sac, in Milton Keynes. OK, it was facing the wrong way. Early afternoon, so full daylight.

I heard a car pass, including a very minor impact noise. I turned in time to see a small hatchback exiting the cul-de-sac, but that was all.

I drove home. Nothing untoward .... until I was about to open the house front door, when I noticed that the entire front of the car was touching the ground on the passenger side.

My builder pulled the front bumper "nearly" back into place, and "fixed" it with a couple of large cable ties. It looks OK, until you get close, then manky.

I don't know if it's relevant, but circa Xmas, Barbara phoned the main dealer. The first I knew about it, was when a new car arrived on the drive, with my name on it, fully paid for, so no finance involved.

Question. I have read somewhere, that Insurers "write off" cars less than 12 months old, no matter how minor the damage. Can anybody comment?

Having gone to "all the wrong schools", I feel that would be unfairly biased in my favour, but as I lack "moral fibre", I'm reluctant to argue with them.

It's "Dutch Uncle" time.

??

602

[GlenAnderson]

Call your insurance.

Put it in their hands.

[diffwhine]

Also it would be worth checking with your daughter if anybody in the cul de sac has any cctv footage from a security camera or doorbell. Whoever did that, knew they did it and scarpered...

[Wittsend]

Oh dear ...

Nobody ever stop these days ... they just drive off.
If you do decide to leave a note - if there are people around. Just leave a blank piece of paper, and/or write sucker on it 
Even with a serious accident the police are not that interested. You are on your own ... Hence


This is where a dash cam pays off. The cost of a good dash cam will be less than the loss of your insurance's excess.

There will be no blanket rule as to what insurers "write off".

It depends on the severity of the shut. In your case this would have been a fairly low impact. Body panels and trim can easily be replaced these days.

Mrs Wittsend has just been wiped out by a lorry on a roundabout.
Passenger wing, door mirror, lights and front damaged.
Put her insurers straight on to it.
The car was drivable and the body repair shop busy, so she had to wait a couple of weeks.
Meanwhile she sent in photographs of the damage.
Come the day a courtesy car was delivered to Witts End Towers.
2 days latter the car was back looking like new. They had ordered in all the parts they needed.
Job done.

Your accident repair should be the same.
IIRC you'll be with LV via the CSMA 

I had to call out Britannia Rescue - part of the CSMA - to recover my new Rover P4 home.
I had to wait 3 hrs as it was a busy Friday and the traffic round York was grid locked as usual 

Once loaded up it was plain sailing. The Britannia call centre kept me fully updated as what was going on at all stages.

In matters like this you get what you pay for.

[Dopey]

The way you word it, it seems (to me anyway) It's a lease car? The thing about electric is If it has any floor damage (where batteries are kept) they will scrap it, although it may be nowhere near the battery Impact damage may have a rippling effect ad cause damage to the battery, they will write it off.

[Oddjob]

Sorry to hear that's happened to you John.
The less than one year old rule used to be that if it was written off they'd replace it with an identical brand new car rather than a cash payment minus 6 months depreciation for example.
Not sure what happens nowadays though.

[Peter Holden]

Avfew months ago someone reversed into our newish eurobox.  Fairly minor damage to one door.  The OP said he would pay could I get a quote
  The quote was dearer than he expected so we ended up going through his insurance.  No hire car - long story but the repair cost way over £2000.  Why you may ask.  Well the door being made out of tin foil was buckled to the edges in all directions and needed replacing.  The impact was less than 5mph.

Don't get me going about AXA writing my sons work truck off on the basis of a report from an engineer who never saw the truck or photos.  They involved Copart and only the intervention of a solicitor got it sorted

Peter
You can't make it up

[Sunny Jim]

I had the pleasure of my nearly new car being written off at 4 months old and sub 3000 miles a few years ago. There was severe damage, so I got a 'new car replacement'. It took months of stress, phone calls, letters etc. It was complicated by the driver of the car running off, then claiming he wasn't driving.

This happened on 6th August 2013, and I got the new car on 20th December! The court case was still going on two years later, but the Insurance Company said they would not charge the excess, nor charge extra on my premium as the other party had admitted liability (eventually). Remember that NCD Protection protects the percentage reduction, not the overall cost of the premium! It also cost me £1500 in hire fees, as they ceased to provide a car once they had 'settled', which meant they had ordered the new car (it had factory options on it, so there wasn't one at a dealer somewhere).

Minor damage should be repaired, however new the car is, unless it is structural. In my case, they hit me from behind so hard (in a 30mph, at 4pm in bright sunlight outside a school) that they had hit the back wheel, and bent the rear suspension mountings! The car was eventually sold for salvage, and repaired.

So, whilst you should get a new car replacement if it were written off, it is a long drawn out process, and the stress might be too much for you!

Sunny Jim

[Theshed]

Sorry to hear that, the direction you where facing is irrelevant. Afraid you really should contact your insurer and ask your Daughter do any neighbours have that footage that was mentioned.
Insurance is a fickle thing but I think most policies do cover new car replacement for such a new car.
Unfortunately insurers are all to keen to write cars off. No wonder our premiums are always on the up !
Good luck

[w3526602]

Hi,

Thanks for the kind thoughts. The "thick plottens".

As I was contemplating my navel. it dawned on me that my car had been hit by a car passing the rear bumper first, so I went to have a shufti. Hmmm! Something doesn't look "too right enough" between the bumper and the "sill" below the tailgate ... not actually damaged, but "things not quite lining up enough".

Sunday today, but I'll give the main dealer who sold us the car a phone call ... he's only three or four miles away. I consider my lash-up good enough to drive. This is the "Nth" new car we have bought from him. The KIA dealer lives next door. and I'd quite fancy a SPORTIVA 

It's just gone 09.00hrs , so I'll give Hyundai a bell, to see what they can offer me.

602

[diffwhine]

Your best bet is to let your insurance company sort this out. People on here can only speculate and that's not helpful. Its not a job for the dealer. You have been the victim of a hit and run. Let the insurance process take its course.

[Wittsend]

No No No Don't take it to the dealer.

Read your insurance policy.
Notify them NOW

Let your insurers deal with it.
They will organise a recovery truck and take it to their preferred repair garage - and leave you with a courtesy car.
Insusrers use their chain of specialist accident repairers and these are often not main dealers.

Involve your dealer and your insurers could/will wash their hands of it.

[Richard]

It's "Dutch Uncle" time.

Hm, I didn't know that one. 'Sources speculate that this idiom developed out of a stereotype of the Dutch as being overly critical and rude [...] very straightforward and candid,' Writing Explained explains. To be quite candid and very straightforward, I have to be overly critical about that. B*st*rds!

As for the damage, leave to it the insurer. Over here we have the Waarborgfonds Motorverkeer, the Motor Traffic Guarantee, for victims of uninsured or untraced drivers. Seems to me in the UK this is covered by the MIB? The Motor Insurer's Bureau? But again, in close consultation with your insurance company.

Richard

[DogDave]

Many reasons why cars get written off, especially at the moment electronic parts are in short supply, if it takes months to get certain components then the cumulative cost of the courtesy / hire car can be enough to tip over the write off threshold.

[GlenAnderson]

This speculative plug hole circling isn't achieving anything.

Have.

You.

Notified.

Your.

Insurance.

Company.

??

They are the only people who can progress this for you.